Saturday, July 14, 2012

Our little boy is finally here. On June 27th 2012 Brody Bryson joined our family after 5 years of fasting and praying. He was born at 1:38 pm weighing in at 8 lbs 1 ounce and 20 inches long.

Our first family pic.....

Sorry if this ends up being a long post but I want to share Brody's birthing story. I still can't believe this little guy is here to stay. For those not interested in the detailed version you can just scan through the pics and call it a day...I won't be offended. :)

On June 26th I finally climbed in to bed around 11pm. Jason was fast asleep already so I didn't think my random contractions were important enough to wake him at that time. Two weeks prior I had my membranes stripped but nothing came of it. When I went back to the doctor a week later he asked if I wanted him to try again. Knowing how painful it was the first time I hesitated but decided to go ahead and let him try again. I didn't think it would do much good but since I had been walking around for 2 weeks now dilated to a 3 and 75% effaced I figured what the heck go ahead and give it another go. After I left the office I was determined that this time was going to work. I called up my Mom and told her we had to go walk the mall to get this baby on his way. She agreed to accompany me and we walked the mall for a few hours. I then went home and bounced on a yoga ball for as long as I could stand it. (told ya I was determined) I guess that did the trick. At 11pm the contractions were coming and going whenever they felt like it. I decided to get some sleep since I figured I was in for a long ride. All the books I read and the class we took said on average a first time Mom is in labor for roughly 20 hours. So by their estimate I had a long way to go....

At 4am the contractions woke me up...they were about 10 minutes apart now and getting more painful. I figured I would get in the shower to help take the edge off and then get ready to go to the hospital (we all know I was not going in looking homeless) So much for that idea, once I was in the shower the back labor kicked in making it hard for me to even function. I quickly finished up my shower and tried my hardest to get out and get ready but then I started throwing up. I wasn't going to let that stop me though... Let's just say I went as far as to lay a mirror on the floor of my bedroom in an attempt to curl up in a ball and blow dry my hair at the same time. hahahaha I did get my hair dry but it was most definitely at a cost. Unlike contractions back labor has no rhythm or reason. It hits you like a freight train and the best you can do is get on your hands and knees and hope it goes away soon. With contractions you have "rest periods" with the back labor I got small spurts of relief but then before I could get off the ground it would hit me again. By now it was 6:00 am and I thought I would call my Mom. I asked her if you were suppose to feel like you were going to die. (A little dramatic I know) She assured me that I was on the right track and to sit back and wait for the contractions to get closer together. When I informed her I was throwing up she changed her course and told me it was time to go to the hospital. I hung up feeling relieved that I at least had the green light from my Mom. Getting to the hospital was another story though. When my Mom called back 30 minutes later to see if we had checked in the the hospital I informed her that I hadn't made it off my bedroom floor yet and that I was in no position to talk to her right now. That is when I heard the panic in her voice for the first time ever. She told me I had to get up and get to the hospital NOW. So I told Jason grab everything we had packed and Brody's car seat and let's get out of here. Just so you don't think Jason had been sitting there staring at me for the past 2 hours the poor kid had the task of packing up our crap all while stopping to push on my back every time my back labor decided to kick in which gave him about 10 seconds in between assisting me to do what he needed to do. He was a great through all of this.

It is now 7am and we are driving to the hospital. I, at that point was the typical pregnant lady telling him to hurry up and that I didn't think we were going to make it....BTW I am getting a petition together to ban the traffic light in front of the hospital! What the heck were those people thinking?!??! Why would you put the longest light in the history of man kind in front of the labor and delivery entrance to the hospital?!!!??! After some not so nice words and me screaming at Jason he finally ran the red light and walked me in to the hospital. We had pre-registered but for some reason the lady in admitting decided to ask me every question she could think of...at this point I can't sit but I also can't stand on my own fully so I am answering her ridiculous questions including my Mothers flipping maiden name (no joke that was a question) all while about to have my baby in her office. Jason piped in at this point and asked her when she was going to take us back...she finally got the hint and let us through. They quickly got my IV in and checked me....I was dilated to a 7!!!! All I could say after that was where is my epidural. They wheeled me back to delivery right away, gave me the epidural (which wore of twice by the way during my labor) and after 4 pushes Brody was born at 1:38. He could have been born around 10am but we were waiting for my amazing doctor. He is amazing and will be delivering all of my future babies!! Jason will be proud of that statement since after the epidural wore off the 2nd time and I was dilated to a 10 at that point I told him we were only having one child! hahahaha :)

Brody is now just over 2 weeks old and the most amazing baby!!! He still sleeps most of the day and night. We just adore him!﻿

Thursday, May 17, 2012

In April we went with Jason's family to Boston to watch Jason's Dad and Brother in Law Judd run the Boston Marathon. The men and women that run these marathons are incredible....or insane. (I haven't figured out which yet) In that heat and for that long there is no way I would ever survive. We saw runners dressed up in anything from a hamburger costume to men in full on army uniform with packs and all crossing the fnish line. It was such an amazing experience.

Rick & Brigham at the finish line....

I love the architecture of Boston. It is everything I love about NY but on every street.

They have the most amazing buildings and cherry blossom trees on every corner. It was gorgeous!!!

Jason and Mom Bryson.....

I know this pic is blurry but it is one of my favs...from left to right...(Mom, Dad, Leslie & Brooke)

It was a trip I will never forget and I am so grateful Jason's Dad, Rick let us come along!!!

Friday, February 3, 2012

I wanted to make sure he knew how special he is to me so I threw him a SURPRISE party with both our close family and friends all in on the action.

How I pulled this off without him knowing is short of a miracle...for at least two weeks leading up to his birthday I slowly deep cleaned the entire house. I even got him to make the yard pretty by telling him if he didn't do it I would...of course his reply to the back yard overhaul was, "I would rather wait and do this when we are expecting people over or something." Little did he know we were definitely expecting people and lots of them!! :)

It was all in the plan...that Friday morning I got up as I normally would and got ready for work. Jason always leaves at least 20 minutes before I do so as soon as he was out the door, I called in sick at work. - shhhh don't tell my boss!

I then picked up my Mom and spent the next 10 hours shopping, cooking, and decorating for the festivities. Of course I had to tell a few fibs along the way. Like when Jason called my cell wanting to know why I wasn't answering my work phone. I had to tell just a little white lie and say, "our systems are down and I'm hanging out at my co-worker Adrienne's desk."Jason was so in the dark with the whole thing that when it came time for him to show up for the party no one had any idea where he was!! He had diverted from my carefully mapped out plan of going to his friend Pete's house after work and then bringing Pete over to hang out. We finally got ahold of him only to find out he was car shopping....making him 45 minutes late to his own party!! When he walked through the door the look on his face was priceless!!!(I will have to upload pics of that later.)BIG Thanks to my Mom for helping make it happen, Pete for lying to Jason for the cause, and all the friends and family that came out to show their love and support! We had so much fun eating, visiting, and celebrating with all of you!!Happy Birthday Jace!! I love you so much!!! XOXO

About Me

We met August 2004 through a mutual friend and were married February 17th 2005. After 5 years of trying and 3 miscarriages we welcomed our son, Brody on June 27th and are loving every minute of being new parents. We own a home in Gilbert and love living close to our family and Friends.